Coupling for electric-light fixtures



A. A. SCHWARTZ AND W. A. WHITESIDE. COUPLING FOR ELECTRIC LIGHT FIXTURES. APPLICATION FILED FEB. 15. 1918;

1,356,745. Patented Oct. 26,1920,

.Umzug ARTHUR AJ SCHWARTZQAN'D"WILLIA1VI A. "WH I'EE SJDE,L0F:BUFFALO,f.-NEW YORK,

ASSIGNORS TO J. ALFRED GAUTHIER, 0F BUFFALO, NEW YORK,

COUPLING FOR ELFCTRIC-LIGHT FIXTURES. I

Patented Oct. 26, 1920.

Application filed. February 15, 1918. Serial No. 217,403.

T 0 aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, ARTHUR A. SCHWARTZ, a citizen of the United States, and WILLIAM A. WHITESIDE, a subject of the King of England, residing at Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improver ments in Couplings for Electric-Light Fixtures, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to electric light brackets or couplings comprising a socketed base-member adapted to be fastened to the wall or ceiling and a cooperating member removably seated in the socket of the basemember and adapted to carry the fixture.

One object of our invention is the construction of a compact coupling of !this kind which can be cheaply manufactured.

A further object is the provision of simple means for firmly and reliably securing the fixture-carrying member in its socket.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of a wall fixture embodying the invention. Fig. 2 is a front view of the coupling, partly in section. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the base-member of the coupling. Fig. 1 is a similar view of the block or removable member.

Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several views.

1 .indicates a wall and 2 the base-member of the coupling which is suitably secured to the wall. In the construction shown, this member is of the so-called tripod type, 3 indicating its arms which project from the ring forming the base. These arms carry a pair of downwardly-converging side-rails or flanges 4 and a transverse-bar 5 connecting the lower ends of the rails. These parts constitute a tapering socket which is open at its large end and closed at its small end and adapted to receive a removable correspondingly-tapered 1010015 ,6 carrying the electric light fixture 7. In the preferred construction shown, this block has a screw-threaded opening 8 into which the stem'9 of the fixture is screwed. To reliably hold the block against forward and backward displacement in its socket, it is provided in its lateral edges with longitudinal grooves 10 which engage the rails ,4.

Passing through the closed bottom 5 of the socket is a draw-screw or bolt 11 which engages a threaded opening 12 in the small end of the block. Upon tightening this screw, the block is firmly wedged into its socket and retained therein.

By this construction, both edges of the block are tightly clamped against the rails or side walls of the socket, holding ,the block and the fixture rigidly in place on the base-member and avoiding all liability of their Working loose. While insuring the required rigidity of the connection, this construction permits a comparatively rough construction of the socket and the block, requiring no machining, except the tapping of the block-holes, and enabling the bracket to be cheaply manufactured.

The customary conductors 13 of the 'fixture pass throughits stem and are soldered or otherwise secured to the supply conductors 14, as shown in Fig. 1. The stem is incased by the usual finishing tube 15, while the bracket and the solder-joints are concealed by a canopy 16 which may be of any approved design.

In assembling is screwed into the block 6, the canopy being slid back on the finishing tube, as usual. The adjacent ends of the fixture and supply wires are then passed through the spaces between the tripod-arms 3 and soldered together, after which the block with the attached fixture is dropped into its socket and screwed therein by the draw-screw 11 and the canopy is returned into place.

In addition to the advantages of rigidity of the coupling and cheapness of manufacture, this construction permits the wires to be conveniently soldered before introducing the block into the socket.

The device is also very compact, per mitting the .use of a relatively shallow canopy and a correspondingly short fixtures'tem, as shown in the drawings.

We claim as our invention:

A coupling for electric fixtures, comprising a base-member having converging rails forming a tapering socket closed at its narengaging the narrow end of said block, said row end and open at its wide end, a corscrew extending lengthwise of the block, respondingly-tapered fixture-carrying-block whereby upon tightening the screw the 10 removably seated in said socket, said block block is wedged toward the narrowend of provided in opposite edges with grooves to the socket and rigidly clam ed therein. engage said rails, and a draw-screw passing ARTHUR A. SC WARTZ. through the closed end of said socket and WILLIAM A. WHITESIDE. 

